•A Bayesian multivariate spatio-temporal interaction model-based approach is proposed on roadway traffic safety.•The spatio-temporal correlations and interactions are incorporated into the crash ...frequency model.•The overall goodness-of-fit performance is improved.•Significant differences are found between the proposed approach and the naïve ranking approach.•A Bayesian approach based on the multivariate Poisson-lognormal model is provided.
Ranking sites with promise is an essential step for cost-effective engineering improvement on roadway traffic safety. This study proposes a Bayesian multivariate spatio-temporal interaction model based approach for ranking sites. The severity-weighted crash frequency and crash rate are used as the decision parameters. The posterior expected rank and posterior mean of the decision parameters are adopted as the statistical criteria. The proposed approach is applied to rank road segments on Kaiyang Freeway in China, which is conducted via programming in the freeware WinBUGS. The results of Bayesian estimation and assessment indicate that incorporating spatio-temporal correlations and interactions into the crash frequency model significantly improves the overall goodness-of-fit performance and affects the identified crash-contributing factors and the estimated safety effects for each severity level. With respect to the ranking results, significant differences are found between those generated from the proposed approach and those generated from the naïve ranking approach and a Bayesian approach based on the multivariate Poisson-lognormal model. Besides, the ranks under the posterior mean criterion are found generally consistent with those under the posterior expected rank criterion.
Uniform and dense oxide films form on the surfaces of molten Ignition Proof Magnesium Alloys (IPMA) alloys after 0.1 wt.% Be addition in magnesium alloy, which make it possible for the alloys to be ...melted and cast without any protection. After Be addition in IPMA alloys, Mg sub 17 Al sub 12 particles are spheroidized and grains are coarsened, which results in poor tensile properties. After 1 wt.% rare earth (RE) is added to IPMA1 alloy, the grains are refined and Al sub 4 RE particles form and the tensile properties of IPMA2 alloy are improved to an acceptable level. Comparisons were made against AZ91.
To inquiry the changes of serum miRNAs expression in pneumoconiosis complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
The study subjects (all subjects are male) were divided into three groups: Ⅰstage ...pneumoconiosis (38 cases) 、Pneumoconiosis complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis (12 cases) and healthy control (40cases) . The first two groups come from Tianjin worker's sanatorium and healthy control group came from a Hospital Health Screening Center. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression levels of miR-21, miR-200c, miR-16, miR-204, miR-206, miR-155, let-7g, miR-30b, miR-192, miR-29a in serum.
Compared with the healthy control group, the expression levels of miR-204, miR-206, miR-21, miR-16, miR-29a, miR-155, miR-200c in other two groups are different (
<0.05) ; Compared with the Ⅰstage pneumoconiosis, the expression levels of miR-155 is significantly higher (
<0.05) and miR-29a is significantly lower (
<0.05) .
Compared with the Ⅰstage pneumoconiosis, the expression levels of miR-155 and miR-29a are sign
Purpose: Tobacco smoking, biomass smoke, and occupational exposure are the main risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present study analyzes data on exposure to these ...factors in a cohort of patients with COPD and assesses their differences in demographic and clinical characteristics. Patients and Methods: The cross-sectional observational study was conducted from November 2016 to December 2019. Inclusion criteria were patients aged over 40 years old with post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV.sub.1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) <0.7. At baseline, demographic features and exposure history were recorded. Moreover, respiratory symptoms were assessed by the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and modified Medical Research Council scale (mMRC). A generalized linear mixed model was used to adjust for potential confounders. Results: A total of 5183 patients with COPD were included in the final analysis. The results demonstrate that exposure to tobacco combined with other risk factors resulted in significantly higher CAT scores (16.0 + or - 6.7 vs 15.3 + or - 6.3, P = 0.003) and more severe dyspnea (patients with mMRC greater than or equal to 2, 71.5% vs 61.6%, P < 0.001) than exposure to tobacco alone. In addition, COPD patients with biomass smoke exposure alone had higher CAT scores than patients with only tobacco or occupational exposure (17.5 + or - 6.3 vs 15.3 + or - 6.3, and 15.2 + or - 6.3, respectively, P < 0.05 for each comparison) and were more likely to be female and older. In addition, COPD patients who suffered from occupational exposure developed more severe dyspnea than those exposed to tobacco alone (70.8% vs 61.6%, P < 0.05), as did those exposed to biomass smoke alone (74.2% vs 61.6%, P < 0.05). This difference remained strong even after adjustment for potential confounders. Conclusion: There are significant demographic and clinical differences among COPD patients with tobacco smoking, biomass smoke, and occupational exposures. Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tobacco, biomass smoke, occupational exposure
•This study examines the interaction effect between roadway attributes and commercial vehicle percentage on crash rate.•Small commercial passenger vehicle (taxi) proportion: effect on slight-injury ...crash rate is moderated by intersection density.•Light-goods commercial vehicle proportion: effect on slight-injury crash rate is magnified by the presence of on-street parking.•Medium- and heavy-goods vehicle proportion: association with KSI crash rate is moderated by the number of traffic lanes.•Medium- and heavy-goods vehicle proportion: association with KSI crash rate is moderated by intersection density.
In previous research, the effects of commercial vehicle proportions (CVP) on overall crash propensity have been found to be significant, but the results have been varied in terms of the effect direction. In addition, the mediating or moderating effects of roadway attributes on the CVP-vs-safety relationships, have not been investigated. In addressing this gap in the literature, this study integrates databases on crashes, traffic, and inventory for Hong Kong road segments spanning 2014–2017. The classes of commercial vehicles considered are public buses, taxi, and light-, medium- and heavy-goods vehicles. Random-parameter Tobit models were estimated using the crash rates. The results suggest that the CVP of each class show credible effects on the crash rates, for the various crash severity levels. The results also suggest that the interaction between CVP and roadway attributes is credible enough to mediate the effect of CVP on crash rates, and the magnitude and direction of such mediation varies across the vehicle classes, crash severity levels, and roadway attribute type in four ways. First, the increasing effect of taxi proportion on slight-injury crash rate is magnified at road segments with high intersection density. Second, the increasing effect of light-goods vehicle proportion on slight-injury crash rate is magnified at road segments with on-street parking. Third, the association between the medium- and heavy-goods vehicle proportion and killed/severe injury (KSI) crash rate, is moderated by the roadway width (number of traffic lanes). Finally, a higher proportion of medium- and heavy-goods vehicles generally contributes to increased KSI crash rate at road segments with high intersection density. Overall, the findings of this research are expected not only to help guide commercial vehicle enforcement strategy, licensing policy, and lane control measures, but also to review existing urban roadway designs to enhance safety.
Microbial reduction of Fe(III) is an important biogeochemical process in anoxic or acidic environments. However, this process under oxic and pH-neutral conditions is understudied, and the iron ...reduction capability of the phylum Actinobacteria is poorly known. In this study, we investigated the capacity of diverse actinobacteria to reduce Fe(III) in the presence of oxygen and at pH 7. From 277 actinobacterial strains isolated from deep sea and terrestrial soil, 109 strains (39.40%) belonging to 17 genera showed the capacity of reducing FeCl3 under oxic and initially neutral pH conditions. Among the 109 strains, 49 spanning 13 genera also reduced ferric iron oxides under the same conditions. Four non-filamentous strains from four genera were selected for further analyses. All the four strains showed the capacity to reduce goethite under oxic and pH 7 and 8 conditions. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) experiments showed a current enhancement when the strains were cultured in the presence of goethite. Living actinobacterial cells and their metabolites played a key role in reducing Fe(III). The strains produced organic acids and siderophores, which likely promoted Fe(III) reduction due to altered reduction potentials of complexed Fe(III) and inhibition of Fe(II) oxidization by oxygen. SEM/EDS and XRD analyses detected vivianite in the culture of Kocuria oceani FXJ8.057 with goethite, where, unexpectedly, K. oceani FXJ8.057 produced nanowire-like structures. These results demonstrate that actinobacteria are able to reduce Fe(III) in both aqueous and solid forms under oxic and pH-neutral conditions. The mechanisms, however, still need further investigation.
This paper summarizes the published scientific data on the soil contamination by semivolatile organic chemicals (SVOCs) in China. Data has been found for more than 150 organic compounds which were ...grouped into six classes, namely, polychlorinated dibenzo-
p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and phthalic acid esters (PAEs). An overview of data collected from the literature is presented in this paper. The Chinese regulation and/or other maximum acceptable values for SVOCs were used for the characterization of soils. In general, the compounds that are mostly studied in Chinese soils are OCPs, PAHs and PCBs. According to the studies reviewed here, the most abundant compounds were PAEs and PAHs (up to 46 and 28 mg kg
−
1
dry weight, respectively); PCBs and OCPs occurred generally at concentrations lower than 100 μg kg
−
1
dry weight. Nevertheless, quite high concentrations of PCDD/Fs, PCBs and PBDEs were observed in contaminated sites (e.g., the sites affected by electronic waste activities). The average concentrations of PAHs and OCPs in soils of North China were higher than those in South China. The principal component analysis demonstrated different distribution patterns for PAH, PCB and PCDD/F congeners and for the various sites/regions examined. The isomer ratios of DDTs and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) indicated different sources and residue levels in soils. Finally, this review has highlighted several areas where further research is considered necessary.
Clinical information systems typically present patient data in chronologic order, organized by the source of the information (e.g., laboratory, radiology). This study evaluates the functionality and ...utility of a knowledge-based system that generates concept-oriented views (organized around clinical concepts such as disease or organ system) of clinical data.
The authors have developed a system that uses a knowledge base of interrelationships between medical concepts to infer relationships between data in electronic medical records. They use these inferences to produce summaries, or views, of the data that are relevant to a specific concept of interest. They evaluated the ability of the system to select relevant information, reduce information overload, and support physician information retrieval.
The sensitivity and specificity of the system for identifying relevant patient information were calculated. Effect on information overload was assessed by comparing the amount of information in each view with the amount of information in the entire record. Information retrieval accuracy and cost (time) were used to measure the effect of using concept-oriented views on the efficiency and effectiveness of retrievals.
The sensitivity and specificity of the system for identifying relevant clinical information were generally in the range of 70 to 80 percent. Concept-oriented views are effective in reducing the amount of information retrieved (over 80 percent reduction) and, compared with source-oriented views, are able to improve physician retrieval accuracy (p=0.04).
Computer-generated, concept-oriented views can be used to reduce clinician information overload and improve the accuracy of clinical data retrieval.
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), also known as a scatter factor, regulates a variety of biological activities including cell proliferation, survival, migration, and angiogenesis. Importantly, HGF and ...its receptor c-Met have been found to be associated with metastasis of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Because anoikis resistance plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis, here we examined whether HGF suppressed suspension-induced apoptosis (anoikis) in HNSCC cells, and if so, we assessed downstream signaling pathways mediated by HGF. We found that HNSCC cells underwent anoikis upon loss of matrix contact, whereas HGF provided protection against it. HGF-induced anoikis resistance was found to be dependent on both ERK and Akt signaling pathways. The inhibition of either ERK or Akt activation abolished HGF-mediated survival. Furthermore, we found that HGF did not activate NFκB transcription in HNSCC cells and that HGF-mediated anoikis resistance was independent of NFκB. Taken together, our results suggest that anoikis resistance induced by HGF may also play an important role in the progression and metastasis of HNSCC.
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